Auburn football may have the next defensive dynamic duo with new 2021 commits

Auburn received commitments from two 2021 defensive line prospects on Saturday.

It was a big weekend for Auburn football recruiting. With the Tigers getting off to a slow start in their 2021 recruiting class, commitments from two of the program’s top targets certainly give the class a boost.

Going into Saturday, Auburn’s 2021 recruiting class only had 10 players and was ranked outside and ranked 32nd in the nation. Considering Auburn hasn’t finished with a recruiting class outside of the top 12 nationally under head coach Gus Malzahn, it was clear that the Tigers needed a boost.

Well, the program got that much-needed boost this weekend when a pair of 2021 defensive line prospects committed to the Tigers.

The first player to commit was strongside defensive end prospect Tobechi Okoli. The three-star recruit out of Kansas City, Missouri won’t get a ton of headlines but while Okoli isn’t as highly-touted as some of Auburn’s other D-line commits, he’s a top-10 prospect in the state per the 247Sports Composite rankings and chose Auburn over programs such as Mizzou, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

https://twitter.com/OkoliTobechi/status/1289576647880880128

He may not be a top-100 recruit but Okoli was one of D-line coach Rodney Garner’s top prospect and he possesses fantastic size at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds. He’s a bit of a raw prospect now but along with his great size, Okoli has strong athleticism and a good frame which makes him a huge upside prospect.

It was also Okoli’s first year of 11-man football so if it only took one year for the DE prospect to earn an offer from Auburn, imagine what he’s capable with more training and experience.

And if Auburn has excelled in anything over the past few seasons, it’s churning out productive defensive lineman. Okoli is the first defensive end prospect in the Tigers’ 2021 class but the team has recruited the position well over the past two seasons or so. With that said, Okoli has the upside to be a major hidden gem for Auburn.

A few hours after Auburn landed Okoli, another one of their top targets followed suit. Four-star defensive tackle Marquis Robinson announced his commitment to the Tigers over teams like Alabama, Florida State and UGA.

A 6-foot-3, 300-pound DT out of Milton, Florida, Robinson is ranked as a top-20 player in the 2021 class at his position.

And while Auburn’s 2021 class is currently headlined by fellow four-star DT and top-100 recruit Lee Hunter, Robinson is one of the most unheralded prospects in the country and I expect a strong senior season should lead to his recruitment rankings skyrocketing.

The Florida DT visited Auburn twice before committing, once in February and again more recently in June.

As Eric J. Wallace of the Pensacola News Journal reports Robinson was often double and triple-teamed in his junior season last year. The recent Auburn commit has been working on slimming down and building speed and agility.

Since his sophomore season in 2018, Robinson has gained muscle and has improved to such a degree that his future potential is exciting to say the least.

It’s a nearly impossible task to follow in the footsteps of someone like Derrick Bown at Auburn and I certainly don’t expect Robinson to be a day-one star for Auburn but he does have the look of a future starter for the Tigers.

Following the commitment of Okoli and Robinson, Auburn’s 2021 class has jumped all the way up to No. 21 in the nation No. 7 in the SEC.

Auburn clearly still has work to be done if they want their 2021 class to match up to year’s past. Fortunately, the Tigers are in the midst of various battles for several elite prospects in the country.

Five-star prospects Ga’Quincy McKinstry and Smael Mondon both have Auburn high on their lists while four-star recruits Jeremiah Williams and Xavian Sorey are both top targets for the Tigers.